Toast Cafe (Davidson)

We don’t make our way up to the Lake Norman area nearly as often as we would like but this weekend was a very special occasion, Ella and I delivered a Wedding Cake to the Peninsula Club. After 48 hours of intense baking, decorating, and packaging we turned a whole lot of butter and powdered sugar into a Two Tiered Wedding Cake, 300 Lemon Zest Cupcakes, and 300 White Chocolate dipped and hand decorated Cake Pops.

After being secluded from the rest of the world for 2 days we had worked up quite the appetite and after delivering the Wedding Cake we were on the hunt for some grub. With my Urbanspoon app in hand I started searching for some quick options and stumbled on Toast Cafe as being one of the highest rated restaurants in the area. With almost 500 votes, an 87% score, and only being a couple miles from us we were sold and on our way to Toast Cafe.

Its rained in the Queen City nearly every day in the last month… today was no different. When we got there the monsoon was in full swing but we were lucky enough to park right across the street and run inside before getting completely soaked. The lighting inside was abysmal and we felt like if we worked there we would have to bring a damn flashlight with us to work everyday just to see our way around (slight exaggeration but you get the point). The only seating with even remotely decent lighting was the bar seating closest to the front windows… obviously the spot for us :)

After looking through the menu again, and again, and again… we decided to go with the chipotle sweet potato and corn soup, the pesto risotto, and the boursin burger.

The chipotle sweet potato and corn soup came to the table first and was a welcome site given the monsoon taking place outside. We loved the soup but were really hoping for the chipotle to be a more noticeable flavor to balance the sweetness of the sweet potato and corn. Even without the chipotle the soup was delicious and we ate every last bite.

The spinach pesto risotto was a phenomenal blend of flavors that were super creamy, cheesy, and had the perfect soft risotto texture (unlike the spackle Im used to being served). I was a little concerned that it would’t be enough for an entree because it only cost $6 but I actually had enough to take home and enjoy the next day for lunch.

The Boursin Burger came topped with lettuce, tomato, black pepper boursin, thick bacon, champagne caramelized sweet onions and garlic mayo on fresh baked ciabatta style buns with a side of fresh greens petite house salad. Knowing I wanted to “save the best bite for last” I dove straight into my salad and got it out of the way first so I could make more space for the boursin beauty that had been presented in front of me. The salad was good (Im not really a fan of mixed greens salads) and it came with a generous portions of shredded cheese and a light touch of ranch dressing but who cares??? Not me, this is all about the Boursin Burger!

I’m a self proclaimed burger aficionado and I can say with the utmost confidence that this is one of the best burgers I have ever eaten! The bun was light and warm, the grilled onions were sweet, and the bacon was delightfully thick… but what set this burger apart was the mouthwatering black pepper boursin. Not only does the boursin obviously taste delicious but it brought the burger together and amplified its neighboring ingredients to a higher level. This is an easy recommendation and a new addition to my Foodies Favorites List :)

Just when we thought the night couldn’t get any better our waitress said the chef wanted us to try their most popular dessert (Frannie’s Chocolate Delight). Not wanting to be rude and carefully trying to hide any excitement about taking advantage of free dessert we pondered for a second and said… Hell Yeah!

Frannie’s Chocolate Delight is a artfully delivered combination of brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, espresso, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a generous supply of whipped cream. Our’s came with nearly completely melted ice cream but we inhaled it so quick it didn’t make much of a difference. The abundance of chocolate on top of chocolate with more chocolate with whipped cream and ice cream was the perfect ending to our already deliciously memorable meal.

Toast Cafe made us regret not making it up to Lake Norman more often. The Queen City is full of amazing restaurants (most of which we have already visited) but if you venture just a few minutes outside of the 4-85 ring you will still find an array of top notch restaurants. Toast Cafe was a quick favorite of ours and we cant wait to hit them up next time for breakfast. Fervent Foodie recommends the southwest chorizo scramble and the peanut-butter-banana-stuffed French toast… both of which we can’t wait to sink our teeth into!